I manage female characters in all the heavens.

With only thirty-odd people, he was no match for hundreds or thousands of refugees, so he could only pretend he didn't see them.

However, this approach was clearly not kind enough. He was afraid that his daughter would misunderstand him and think that he had abandoned her to her death, so he patiently explained to her.

As a result, Nie Xiaoqian's question, "Why save them?" killed the communication.

Nie Yan was immediately heartbroken. Where did my kind and gentle daughter go?

Was my parenting a complete failure?!

When the refugees saw this group, a strange light flashed in their eyes—there was longing, greed, and jealousy, but mostly numbness.

They just watched without making any move.

Even without flaunting their wealth, a group with a dozen or so knives still carries a certain deterrent effect.

Nie Xiaoqian sat in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked down at the refugees outside the window with a calm expression.

She knew, of course, that most of these people wouldn't live much longer.

The world is filled with a thick aura of resentment and filth. Ordinary people who are exposed to this environment for a long time will have their yang energy constantly eroded, and will eventually die from disease, hunger, or the hands of evil spirits.

In short, it's all the same: death.

She felt no pity; such was the nature of chaotic times, where the weak were the sustenance for the strong to grow.

It's better to let them die peacefully than to let them become her cultivation resources and suffer a painful death later.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead.

"Get out of the way! All of you, get the hell out of my way!"

A rapid sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, accompanied by arrogant shouts and the cracking of whips.

Several refugees were unable to dodge in time and were knocked away by the galloping horse, crashing heavily to the ground and groaning in pain.

But the rider didn't care at all. Instead, he laughed loudly, whipped his horse, and continued to charge forward. He even drew his knife and chopped off several heads.

A frail little girl on the roadside was unable to dodge in time and was about to be beheaded.

Nie Xiaoqian watched coldly, but Nie Yan couldn't stand it anymore.

"stop!"

He roared and suddenly stood up from the carriage.

Hearing the angry shout, the rider pulled on the reins and turned around.

He was a man in his thirties, wearing a tattered leather armor, with a curved knife at his waist, a face full of scars, and a fierce look in his eyes.

He was followed by seven or eight riders dressed similarly, who were clearly not good people.

The man sized Nie Yan up and down, frowned, and said solemnly, "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business!"

Nie Yan's face turned ashen: "In broad daylight, you run rampant on horseback, indiscriminately killing innocent people. Do you even have any respect for the law?"

"The law?" The man laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "I am the law! What kind of damn official are you, daring to talk nonsense in front of me?"

With a wave of his hand, the seven or eight riders behind him immediately dispersed, partially surrounding the Nie family's group.

Although the servants also carried knives, they had never seen anything like this before. Their faces turned pale, and their hands holding the knives trembled.

Nie Yan took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said in a deep voice, "I am Nie Yan, the prefect of Jinhua, here to take up my post in the capital by imperial decree. Who are you? State your names!"

"The Prefect of Jinhua?" The man scratched his head. "Oh, I remember, he's a high-ranking official... Tsk tsk, I'm lucky."

He spurred his horse forward a few steps, his gaze sweeping over the Nie family's caravan, especially lingering on the several fully loaded carriages, a greedy glint flashing in his eyes.

“Your Excellency, with your high rank, you must have amassed a considerable fortune, right? Is it all here? These are turbulent times; it's not safe for you to travel with so many people and valuables.”

He licked his lips: "How about this, you leave some toll money and all your women, and we'll let you pass, how about that?"

Nie Yan's face darkened: "How dare you! I am an official appointed by the imperial court, how dare you block my way and rob me?"

"An official appointed by the imperial court?" The man scoffed. "Prefect, you don't still think the imperial court is of any use, do you?"

He pointed to the corpses of the displaced people by the roadside, "Look at this, who can the imperial court control?"

Chapter 166 Lord Nie is awesome, this ghost is destined to be with me.

Nie Yan fell silent.

He knew that although it was harsh, it was the truth.

The Changming Dynasty was rotten to the core.

But he could not back down.

His daughter is watching from behind. If he doesn't even care about that, his great image in her eyes will be tarnished, which is unacceptable!

Even without the guards, Nie Yan and his group were still not easy targets. The dozen or so knife-wielding servants were all strong and capable, enough to intimidate ordinary small groups of bandits.

Although he was not intimidated by the seven or eight bandits, he was confident of victory in a real fight.

He suddenly drew the long sword from his waist!

The sword gleamed with a cold light in the sunlight, reflecting on his resolute face.

“You scoundrel,” his voice was deep and powerful, “surrender!”

The man was startled by his sudden display of power, but quickly recovered and sneered, "Oh ho, so the Prefect can wield a sword?"

"Alright, then let me see just how good your swordsmanship really is, you official who issues orders!"

With a wave of his hand, the seven or eight riders simultaneously drew their scimitars and charged towards the Nie family's troops!

Nie Yan's eyes burned with fury. He drew another sword from his waist, wielded both swords, jumped off the carriage, and joined his servants in a battle against the bandits.

He was indeed not a weak scholar, but his swordsmanship was not as bad as he claimed, that three or five strong men couldn't get close to him. Even when he joined forces with a dozen servants to fight the bandits, it was still extremely dangerous.

These bandits were ruthless killers, while Nie Yan and his servants, though also tall and strong and trained for several years, lacked courage and fighting spirit. Despite having more men and better equipment, they could only fight the bandits to a standstill.

Just then, "Nie Xiaoqian" couldn't stand it anymore.

She sat in the carriage without even lifting her eyelids.

But in that instant, an invisible force quietly spread out.

Nie Yan felt the sword in his hand tremble slightly, as if it had gained its own consciousness, and it naturally led him to perform the move!

Then he heard—

puff!puff!puff!

Before he could react, the seven or eight bandit riders, along with their horses, were all killed in one fell swoop!

It was so fast that no one could react in time!

Nie Yan stood there, sword in hand, staring blankly at the bloody scene before him, unable to come to his senses for a long time.

This... I made this?

He looked at the sword in his hand, then at the several mutilated corpses on the ground, his face blank.

What just happened?

"Master! Master!" A servant reacted, his face full of excitement. "You, you are amazing! What kind of swordsmanship is that? Teach me!"

"Your martial arts skills are simply astonishing!"

Nie Yan: "..."

Could it be that I am actually a one-in-a-million martial arts genius, but my talents were wasted on studying in the past?

But that's not right. This isn't my first time wielding a sword. Why wasn't I this fierce before?

"Never mind." Nie Yan shook his head, suppressing his doubts, and said in a deep voice, "We shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's pack up quickly and continue on our way."

Halfway through his sentence, he turned towards another group of bandits who were quietly approaching, raised his sword and shouted, "Anyone who dares to come any closer will be killed without mercy!"

The bandits hiding in the shadows were startled and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Looking at the seven or eight gruesome corpses on the ground, and then at the imposing prefect holding a long sword... they decided not to act rashly.

They slowly retreated, disappearing behind the distant hills.

Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression remained serious.

The rescued refugees were already numb and indifferent. They didn't thank the upright official for saving their lives. Instead, they rushed to the fresh corpses, grabbed them, and ran away. Their motives were self-evident.

In their struggle to seize the corpse, the refugees even engaged in a battle, using knives where they had them, and stones and sticks where they didn't; in short, they fought fiercely.

Seeing this scene, Nie Yan sighed deeply, unsure whether his actions were right or wrong.

Nie Xiaoqian also sighed, if the folk customs in all parts of the world were so "simple and honest", she really didn't know what was so scary about demons and monsters.

The journey from Jinhua to Beijing is over a thousand li (approximately 500 kilometers), and at the current pace of the team, it will probably take about a month to arrive.

Moreover, considering the various situations encountered the previous day and this morning, the probability of the team reaching the capital safely is probably zero.

It was only the second day since they left home, and the entire hundred-man guard was wiped out. It's hard to say how long the remaining thirty or so people from the Nie family can hold out.

Actually, if it weren't for "Nie Xiaoqian" last night, everyone in the Nie family would have been wiped out by the living zombies.

Even so, Nie Yan still had to go to the capital, as ordered by the imperial decree.

The sun began to set again in the west.

After a day of travel, the group encountered five bandits, three groups of deserters, and two shady inns.

Each time was fraught with danger, but each time, under Nie Yan's command or through unexpectedly powerful martial arts, they managed to escape unscathed.

However, inevitably, some supplies and valuables were lost during the escape.

Because traveling at night was too dangerous, Nie Yan ordered that a place be found to spend the night, and that they would continue their journey at dawn the next day.

"Master, there's a village ahead," a servant rode back to report. "It's marked on the map as Fengshui Village, not far from the main road. Shall we stop there to rest?"

Nie Yan nodded: "Let's go, let's go there."

The group headed towards Fengshui Village.

Upon arriving at Fengshui Village, the group discovered that the village, which had seen a steady flow of people just six months prior, was now abandoned.

Most of the houses collapsed, and weeds grew among the ruins.

The air was filled with the smell of burning and decay, and a few crows perched on the ruins of the roof, cawing hoarsely.